Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Interview with Lauren Carr


Interview with Lauren Carr                   
Author of Blast from the Past
(A Mac Faraday Mystery)


Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I first fell in love with mysteries when my mother read Perry Mason to me at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.

With my third book, I launched the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.  It’s Murder, My Son, Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, have all received rave reviews from both readers and reviewers. Both novels   It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have made it to number one slots on Amazon under the Cozy Mystery category.

Blast from the Past is the fourth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series. Within days of its release, it was in the Top-100 slot on Amazon under mystery-thrillers/police procedural.  The next installment in the Mac Faraday series will be released in October of this year.

Released September 2012, Dead on Ice introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment in the Lovers in Crime series will be out in 2013.

I am also the owner of Acorn Book Services, which offers publishing management, consulting, editing, cover and layout design, and limited marketing for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genres, all written by independent authors, will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

I do all that from my home in Harpers Ferry, WV, where I live with my husband, son, and three dogs (which includes a German shepherd puppy named Gnarly).

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Actually, I remember two stories. I had been making up stories from the time I could use my imagination, but never actually sat down to write one out. At fourteen, I decided to write a short story for a writing contest in a teen girl magazine. It was a kidnapping story. A romance won.
Later, when I was a senior in high school, a friend of mine was in a fix. She was taking creative writing and had the whole semester to write a short story, but she couldn’t. She was completely blocked. So, on the day the story was due, during lunch, I wrote out a short story in long hand. It was a comedy about a dog that was suffering from the humiliation of fleas. He is in love with the dog across the street, but his flea problem repelled her. The story was written in first person. She paid me with a cheeseburger, fries, and soda. It was my first professional writing job. She got an A for the story.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

I’d have to say my mother. Books and mysteries are the love we share. She has always encouraged me to write and supported it. I can’t tell you how many times she would read a book and say, “Your stories are so much better than that.” She said it enough for me to believe it.

What do you like about writing a story?

It’s the escape into a world of adventure and mystery.

Can you tell us about your book?

In Blast from the Past, Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs in mobsters and federal agents.

After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars—Archie Monday!

Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lake shore resort town of Spencer, Maryland, things may be hotter than even he can handle.

What genre best fits for the book?

It’s a mystery.  Amazon has placed it under police procedural. I think it also fits under cozy mysteries. My mysteries have been described as “gritty cozies.”

Are you working on something new at the moment?

Right now, I’m working on the next Mac Faraday, which I am aiming for a Halloween release. The working title is The Haunting of Astaire Castle. No, I am not switching genres. In this mystery, Mac discovers that he owns a haunted castle, in which a famous paranormal author had mysteriously disappeared.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Write whatever turns you on. Don’t worry about the market or what is hot right now. That always changes and you will go nuts trying to keep up with it. Write what you love. If you love it, there will surely be an audience out there that will love it, too.

Where can people go to read your work?

Amazon.com. All of my books is available in both print and e-book. The e-book versions are only 99 cents each.

Do you have anything to add?

Readers can also get the updated schedule for my tour by visiting my sites:
Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:
                 http://mysterylady.net/
Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/


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